The Rules
by MidnightBlueDragon
Summary: The truth of the Akatsuki and their deaths is finally being revealed. But are they really dead? And how can their past actions be explained? Beware: This might question everything you know...
1. Chapter 1: Sneaky Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters.**

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Chapter 1: Sneaky Discoveries

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade," Tenten said as she and the three boys next to her bowed, dismissing themselves from the Hokage's office.

"Well, that went well," Shikamaru commented as they left the building. "But still was troublesome."

"Tenten, what are you reading?" Shino noticed the pamphlet in the girl's hands.

"Oh this?" Tenten looked up. "It's a pamphlet I stole off of Shizune's desk."

"When Tsunade finds out, she's going to be pissed," Sasuke smirked evilly and grabbed for the papers, "If it's so interesting let us know too."

"Hey back off, I'm not done reading!" Tenten successfully dodged the raven haired boy's attempt to grab the papers. "I'll give it to you when I've finished reading it!"

"Won't Shizune need it back?" Shino asked thoughtfully. "It might be important, and then it would be too troublesome for you to get out of the mess."

"Remember when I said I had to make a pit stop at the bathroom?" The three boys nodded. "I lied. I copied the documents and replaced the originals one. So we're all good, unless one of you decide you want to tell?"

"Nah, we're all good, that's way too troublesome anyways," Shikamaru yawned.

While Tenten had been explaining her sneakiness with much pride in her voice, Sasuke had successfully managed to snatch the papers and now was scanning over them. His eyebrows quirked with interest. "This sounds interesting," The Uchiha smirked as he passed the papers to Shino.

Shino gave a curious look at Sasuke before looking at the papers. Shikamaru peered at the documents from over Shino's shoulder. A smirk came to the two boys' lips.

"Who's ready for a field trip?" Tenten asked as if reading their minds.

* * *

"So how did I get stuck in this again?" Shikamaru groaned. All he had wanted was a night's sleep after a long mission. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was.

"Shhh!" Tenten hissed. "Rule number 5: never abandon your team for anything!"

"I'd abandon my team anytime for a nice nap," Shikamaru replied although they all knew it wasn't true.

"Rule 10, never choose sleep over saving your friends," Tenten countered before tiptoeing forward leaving a dumbstruck Shikamaru.

"Is that really a rule?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes," Sasuke nodded as he followed the brown haired kunoichi. Shrugging the matter off, Shikamaru followed and Shino did the same.

The four shinobi carefully made their way down a steep flight of stairs that led under ground. They followed a narrow hall way to a bolted steel door.

"You'd think that if this thing was so important it would have more security," Sasuke commented with a smirk.

"Well, not many people know of it," Shino replied as he began to fiddle with on of the five locks.

"Plus, this place is like rigged with video cameras," Tenten added.

"Then shouldn't we take them out first?" Shikamaru asked like it was obvious.

"We are placed fake images instead of the real feed," Tenten smirked. "It was quite easy, actually."

A series of clicks were heard and the five locks fell to the ground along with a heavy chain. Shino pushed the door open and motioned the others to enter, "Ladies first."

"We don't have a lady here," Sasuke stated smugly.

"Hey!" Tenten punched him in the arm before entering the room. "Wow, it's bigger than I thought it would be."

"So it's all the items that Konoha confiscated after fights, battles, and missions," Shikamaru noted as he strolled over to a relatively long knife. "How convenient, they even labeled everything and where they found them."

"Hmm, I wonder what they have," Sasuke eyes scanned the cases and items as he strolled through the isles.

"So why would something like this be so confidential?" Tenten wondered as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Because of stuff like this," Sasuke answered. Shikamaru threw a look at Tenten who shrugged before walking towards the item that Sasuke had paused in front of. Moments later Shikamaru and Shino joined them.

"Isn't that Zabuza's sword?" Shino asked. However it was more a statement than a question since all four were well aware of the answer.

"Recently used by Suigetsu," Shikamaru read off the plaque. He turned to look at Sasuke who had a cold, stone look on his face. "Isn't he one of your teammates?"

"He _was _my teammate," Sasuke replied angrily but quickly walked away to calm down.

"That's right, Sasuke has been a Konoha shinobi again for some time now," Shino whispered.

"That's not it," Tenten whispered back, careful to not let the Uchiha hear. "I think something else happened, too."

"To Suigetsu?" Shino questioned in a low voice.

Tenten nodded, then said out loud to avoid Sasuke's suspicion, "Look there's Haku's broken mask."

Sasuke looked at the mask fondly, "I remember that mission. Good times when one was young and before the disaster strikes."

No matter how confused the other three were at his reaction they said nothing because after working with the Uchiha for a year now they learned that it was better to not ask.

"Hmm, where does this go to?" Tenten pondered as she walked into a separate room. Inside was several items that all belonged to the Akatsuki. The three boys arrived shortly and looked around.

The rings of the members were displaced in a glass case that was located next to the case that held Hidan's triple-bladed scythe. Along the wall, there was the famous black with red clouds cloaks lined up in glass cases. To the right of the door was Deidara's big clay bird that was almost in tact. One of its wings was broken. Next to that was Hiruko, Sasori's puppet armor. In a case next to that was the sword that was given to Sasuke by Orochimaru. Next to that was Kisame's famous sword.

But what caught Tenten's eyes was the case that was located at the other side of the room. It was a tank and inside was what seemed to be, and was, Hidan. Shikamaru followed her gaze and stared at the imprisoned criminal.

"But, I thought that…" Shikamaru stuttered.

"What, you didn't think that we were about to leave a criminal buried in the ground for all to see and reach?" The three boys whipped around to see Neji leaning against the entrance.

"Hyuga," Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"It should be the other way around, Uchiha," Neji glared at the raven haired boy as he sauntered over to him. Looking him in the eye, Neji sneered, "You're not supposed to be here. Only Jonin are allowed here."

"Pfft," Sasuke scoffed as he countered the white eyed boy's glare, "Last time I checked, I _was _a Jonin."

"Well, you're also the traitor," Neji hissed so low so that only Sasuke heard.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Kakashi poofed into the room, head still in the little orange book. "Sneaking into Konoha's Archives?"

"You're going to be in big trouble with the hokage," Iruka stated.

"Yeah, we know," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"We're sorry," Tenten finally tore her gaze from the living corpse. Her eyes had a look of sadness in them, "We'll turn our selves in and suffer the rightful consequences."

Sasuke turned around and looked at his teammate. Her eyes had lost the fire that they had when they started the secret 'mission'.

"You better," Kakashi smirked as he poofed away.

* * *

"You did what now??" Tsunade demanded as she stared down the four teens who flinched at the loudness of her voice. "How the hell did you find out about the archives? They're supposed to be confidential."

Shikamaru yawned rather loudly, "Can you please lower your voice; I think I just popped an eardrum."

"An eardrum won't be the only thing that will be popped by the time I'm done with you!" Tsunade yelled, very pissed by now. "NOW answer the question."

"What question?" Shino asked, acting aloof.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THE ARCHIVES!"

"Lady Tsunade, you see I found-" Tenten tried to explain the whole situation politely but was cut off by Sasuke.

"We have our ways. We can't just disclose our sources," Sasuke smirked.

"Since when does Sasuke joke around and ask for trouble?" Shikamaru whispered to Tenten.

"He hangs out with Naruto way too much," she whispered back hoping that Tsunade wouldn't hear.

But, unfortunately, she did, "YOU TWO BACK THERE, SHUT UP! That's it all of you, three days in isolation."

"What?!" the boys protested. "IT WAS TENTEN'S IDEA!"

"Hey!" Tenten wanted to kill her teammates right about now.

"I don't care!" Tsunade bellowed, "That's it, seven days!"

"Yes, ma'am," the teens finally gave in and exited the office to go to their punishment.

"Thanks back there," Tenten stated sarcastically. "Rule 12, never rattle out a teammate/friend!"

"What happened to rule nine?" Sasuke retorted. "Save your own butt first, then your comrades'?"

"That's different!" Tenten glared at the boy.

"Sure it is," Sasuke smirked smugly.

"Why you little!" Tenten yelled as she lunged at the Uchiha, ready to strangle him. Fortunately for him, Shikamaru and Shino held the kicking girl back.

"Umm, Tenten," Shino said as he struggled to keep the girl away from the raven haired boy, "wasn't rule six, never attack your own comrade?"


	2. Chapter 2: Final Freedom

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything!**

**I'd like to thank Metal-Blondie for the great review! Now, on with the story!**

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Chapter 2: Final Freedom

"Ugh, I hate solitude," Tenten moaned as she exited the loathed isolation room. She seriously wondered why Konoha even had any, let alone why they used it on their own ninjas. It was freakin torture.

"So what did you do to get thrown in there?" Kiba asked as he hung the key back on its hook. Tsunade had sent him to let the delinquents out.

"Ask Shino," Tenten replied simply before walking off. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air."

"That's what he told me," Kiba twitched. He hated when people kept interesting stuff from him.

"Yo, Kiba," Tenten paused in her step and turned her head.

"Yes," Kiba replied excitedly, maybe he was going to get the story after all.

"You know where Kakashi-sensei is?" She asked.

Kiba's head dropped in disappointment. "He's at the dumpling shop."

"Thanks," she smiled before skipping away happily.

Kiba, on the other hand, began sulking in a corner.

* * *

"I hate that solitude room," Sasuke moaned as he slurped down some ramen. "Finally, some real food!"

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was unusually happy. "That was the best seven days of him life! All I had to do was sleep!"

"I'm glad somebody liked it," Tenten commented as she took a seat next to Sasuke.

"Hey," Sasuke greeted, finishing hit tenth bowl of ramen and reaching for the next one, "want anything?"

"Nope, I'm fine," Tenten shook her head.

"So I heard that you were looking for Kakashi," Sasuke slurped down some more ramen. "Find him?"

"Man, word travels fast here. Yeah, I did find him," Tenten's mind race to the conversation she had with the Jonin.

_~~~~~Flashback~~~~~_

"_Kakashi-sensei, I need to talk to you!" Tenten yelled, ignoring the stares she received as she ran to the table that Kakashi was seated at. _

"_Yes, what can I do for you? Just make it fast?" Kakashi replied. There was something different about him. Oh that's right, he wasn't reading that perverted book of his!_

_As Tenten examined him further, she realized something else, "Did you style your hair with gel???!!!"_

"_What did you want to ask me?" Kakashi nervously tried to change the subject. _

"_Oh right," Tenten turned dead serious. "Remember the, uh, incident seven nights ago? Well, I've been thinking about Hidan. I always thought that Shikamaru blew him up."_

"_Of course Shikamaru thought that he blew him up, that's what it looked like," Kakashi replied, slightly puzzled. "But the truth is Hidan was just buried under ground. He was bound there but the head of the Hyuga clan-"_

"_Neji's uncle?" Tenten interrupted._

_The white haired man nodded, "He thought that it wasn't safe too leave an S-class criminal in the wide-open."_

"_But I thought it was on Shikamaru's family's land."_

"_It was, but you know the Hyugas. They like to be precise and organized. They're slightly OCD if you know what I mean."_

_Tenten nodded. She had spent a long time with Neji and knew how he was about doing everything according to plan and perfectly._

"_He, as well as Konoha's elders, decided that it would be best to lock him up and slowly drain him of all his chakra."_

"_But…t-that's torture!" Tenten gasped._

"_True, but he is a criminal who has done crimes against Konoha."_

"_But as I recall the only crime that he did was the murder of Asuma and you know what happened after that. So why does Konoha still want him?"_

"_You bring up a good point, but what is done is done. It's hard to forget something like that. Now, if you're done, please leave!"_

_~~~End Flashback~~~_

"I think he was waiting for a date," Tenten giggled.

"No way, Kakashi-sensei on a date!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Hey Naruto," Tenten greeted the blonde.

"Yo!" Naruto hopped onto the seat that was on the other side of Tenten.

"Is it time for that mission now?" Sasuke asked as he finished yet another bowl.

Naruto nodded then yelled, "I'll take some ramen TO GO!"

"You're too loud…and troublesome, Naruto," Shikamaru mumbled in his sleep.

"You'd think that after sleeping for seven days straight he would be tired of sleeping," Tenten shook her head.

"Rule number 24, never question the personalities of your teammates," Sasuke stated.

"True," Tenten shrugged before jumping off her stool. "Have fun on that mission, guys! Later!"

"Hey, Tenten, Lee was looking for you!" Naruto yelled as he suddenly remembered the black haired boy.

* * *

Of course Tenten knew why Lee had been looking for her. Usually there were only three reasons:

She was going to be sent on a secret mission and Lee wanted to know everything about it.

She got in trouble and Lee wanted to know everything about it.

He wanted to train with her.

Actually, there were four reasons. The fourth was that Neji knew something about her that Lee didn't know and wouldn't stop till he found out.

"Hey, Neji," Tenten smiled at the brown haired boy who smirked in return. The weapons user was currently trying to ignore the whining, begging boy who was following her.

"But Tenten, you said that rule 17 was to tell your teammates everything!" Lee whined.

"Wrong, Lee, rule 17 is something else," Tenten replied, not bothering listing it out.

"BUT! TENTEEEEEEN!" Lee continued whining. "I wanna know!"

"What's going on here?" Guy asked over dramatically after appearing out of nowhere.

Now when the team leader came, Tenten knew it was time to make her escape. While Lee was distracted in greeting the Jonin, Tenten quickly poofed away leaving a log in her place.

Tenten chuckled to herself as she walked through the market place. Her eyes scanned her surroundings looking for a certain pineapple head. Her mouth broke out into a wide grin when she spotted him grumbling while picking out tomatoes.

"SHIKA-KUN!" She yelled, tackling him with a hug.

"Get off me, Tenten," he growled.

"Someone's grumpy," Tenten teased. "Did mommy make you go out shopping again or did you offer this time?"

"Shut up," Shikamaru glared, and then looked around, "No one must know about this, got it?"

"Don't worry." Shikamaru looked relieved. Tenten added with a smirk, "I'll only tell Temari."

"Don't you dare!" Shikamaru protested.

"Oh, I will," Tenten grinned. "But if you do something for me, I might consider."

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**What did you think? Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: The File

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything.**

**Chapter 3!!!**

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Chapter 3: The File

_"But if you do something for me, I might reconsider."_

"Fine, I'll do it," Shikamaru groaned. "Just don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to keep up with."

"Yeah, a reputation of a lazy, good for nothing, sleepaholic," Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Exactly!" Shikamaru nodded, paying for the groceries. "Now what do you need?"

"Can you get me into your dad's files?" Tenten asked in one breath.

"Why?" Shikamaru eyed her suspiciously.

"No questions!" Tenten snapped. Shikamaru just shrugged and led her to his home. Slamming the door open, he barged in. Tenten followed in a more polite way. "Is your mom home?"

"No," Shikamaru replied, not turning around. He walked into the kitchen and laid the bag on the counter.

From where he was sitting at the table with a nice cup of tea, Asuma chuckled.

"Hey, Asuma-sensei," Tenten greeted as she sat down across from him.

"Good afternoon, Tenten. Strange to see you here. Training, I suppose?" Asuma sipped his tea.

"Not really, we have some team planning to do," Tenten replied. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Well, I think I should be going," Asuma stood up when he had finished his tea. "Oh, yeah, Shikamaru, your father is taking a nap in the living room."

"Wait, then how did you get in?" Shikamaru asked.

"I have a spare key," Asuma shrugged, dangling the keys, before he disappeared.

"You gave him a key and you didn't give me one?" Tenten demanded childishly.

"So that's where my key went," Shikamaru muttered, ignoring the brunette. "Psh, how troublesome."

"Take me to the files," Tenten ordered.

"Bossy woman, so troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled as he led her to his father's office. On the way there, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Dad, I'm going to into your files!"

"Okay, have fun," his dad mumbled in his sleep.

Shikamaru opened the door and let Tenten slip in first. As soon as she was through, Tenten began rummaging through the file cabinets and papers on the desk. On the hand, Shikamaru, being the lazy boy he was, sat down in the big comfy chair and dozed off, not bothering to ask what the brunette was up to. It was for the best anyways, because she wasn't going to tell him anyways.

Her hands flew across the tabs, scanning each one before pushing them back in the drawer. Once she was done with the first cabinet, she moved onto the second. Pretty soon she had gone through everything in the small room. Picking up the file that was on the desk which was also littered with several papers and scraps, she smirked triumphantly as she read the heading.

_S-class Criminal File: Hidan_

* * *

_The next day:_

"Shikamaru, have you seen Tenten?" Shino asked as he jumped down off the tree to land in front of the drowsy ninja.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?" Shikamaru looked annoyed.

Shino shrugged. "Sorry, forgot you were squeamish."

"I'm not squeamish! I'm just not fond of completely covered guys who look like drug dealers suddenly jumping in front of me," Shikamaru grumbled. "You're so troublesome."

"Whatever, I need to find Tenten. We have a mission."

"And by me, you don't mean me?" Shikamaru eyed the bug boy.

"No, it's just Tenten, Kiba, and me," Shino rolled his eyes through his dark sunglasses.

"Yesss!" Shikamaru smirked. "Tenten's in her apartment. I was just over there."

Without a word of thanks, Shino jumped away leaving Shikamaru to retreat back to his house for his midmorning nap.

When he reached the brunette's home, Shino knocked once. When she didn't answer, he knocked again and again and again.

"Okay! What do you want!?" Tenten threw the door open.

"Mission," Shino simply put.

"Now?" Tenten looked pissed. _Out of all times, why now?_

Shino nodded.

"Let me get ready," Tenten sighed, slamming the door in the boy's face.

* * *

"Do you get it?" Tsunade repeated, staring the three teens down, hoping to make them break under the pressure just for her own amusement.

"Can we just go already?" Tenten replied, looking irritated. "Can we just get this over with?"

Shino eyed her strangely from the corner of his eyes. _What's gotten into her today?_

"Careful, girl, you just got out of trouble," Tsunade threatened. "Now, you all can get the heck out of my office and leave me in peace."

With a short nod, Shino and Kiba exited the room. Before she left, Tenten turned and asked her sweetest voice, "Tsunade-sama, when I get back, can we talk about something?"

Tsunade, however, did not like that tone. It meant the girl was up to something. Sighing, she replied, "I'll see about it."

"Thanks!" Tenten grinned before running out of the room to catch up with her two teammates.

"Shizune," Tsunade called.

"Yes, ma'am," Shizune appeared at the door.

"Why was I the one stuck with this stupid job?" Tsunade groaned, banging her head on the desk.

"Lady Tsunade!!" Shizune yelled in shock.

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**Wow, that was pretty pointless...NExt chapter something actually happens! **

**~~I didn't even get any rules in here.... **


	4. Chapter 4: Pleading with the Hokage

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything!**

**here's the new chapter! Thanks for all the great review so far! **

**i hope this isnt too disappointing!**

**Enjoy and please review!**

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Chapter 4: Pleading with the Hokage

"Shino, where to do you think you're going?" Sasuke demanded, arms crossed. He had just returned from his mission to receive some intriguing and slightly disturbing news.

"No where," Shino shifted his eyes, not looking the Uchiha in the eyes. Sasuke was famous for his interrogation skills.

"I come back from my two week long mission," Sasuke began his rant. "To be told by Shikamaru that you went on a mission with Tenten and the whole time she was acting 'strange'. I don't like the sound of that. Whatever she is up to I want to know."

Shino smirked, "Stop lying to yourself, you _care_."

"No, I don't," Sasuke snapped. "I just don't want her to do something stupid that she will regret."

"You know it's okay to admit you care about your teammates," Shikamaru commented. The boy had been standing behind Sasuke and was still trembling from the interrogation method that Sasuke had used on him.

Peering at the pineapple head, Shino stated, amused, "I thought rule 19 was never torture your teammates."

"It wasn't torture, it was only depriving him of sleep," Sasuke shrugged.

"You should know better that rule 20 is never torture your teammates by deprivation of sleep," Shino said.

"These rules are oddly specific," Shikamaru remarked.

But just then, a nervous looking Tenten walked past them and towards the Hokage building. Looking at each other, the three boys ran after her.

"Tenten, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked forcefully.

"I have to speak to Tsunade-sama," Tenten replied curtly.

"About what?" he pressed.

"Since when did you become so over controlling?" Tenten snapped, glaring at the boy. She looked really tense.

"You know what, you're right!" Sasuke stopped abruptly, sneering, "It's none of my business. Go get into all the trouble you want. Get yourself killed for all I care!" With that, the Uchiha stomped off.

"FINE!" Tenten yelled at his retreating figure before storming off to the Hokage office again.

"That was remarkably strange," Shino stated.

"Eh, I don't really care about their problems," Shikamaru yawned before heading home to get some sleep. Shino just shrugged to himself before going off someplace to train his new bugs.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune announced. "Tenten is here to see you."

"Let her in," Tsunade muttered irritably.

"Tsunade-sama, I need to ask you a giant favor! And don't be brash about the answer because you need to hear me out!" Tenten began. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I would like you to please release Hidan."

"What?" Tsunade yelled in shock, eyeing the girl. "What has gotten into you, girl?"

"Hokage-sama, please, hear me out," Tenten begged. "According to laws, we are only allowed to keep criminals that have done crimes against Konoha."

"And this man did do crimes against Konoha," Tsunade replied as she absorbed each word the brunette produced.

"Forgive me to correct you, but he did one crime, that was to kill Asuma. But Asuma is still alive," Tenten explained.

"What's your point?" Tsunade asked, leaning back. Things were starting to get slightly interesting, no matter how outrageous it was.

"My point is that because Asuma is not really dead, it makes what Hidan did attempted murder. And I believe that he has already done his share of time," Tenten concluded.

"I can't just let an S-class criminal out on the streets!" Tsunade exclaimed. "No matter how big or little his crime was! The village needs to be protected from him."

"But," Tenten tried again, exasperated, "Most if not all of his chakra, has already been drained. And he probably never will get it back. It's pointless to let him keep suffering like that! Please, I'll take care of him and control him! I'll make sure he doesn't go evil again and he leads a normal life." Her eyes were pleading.

"I must ask the three Jonin involved with this case first and your teammates" Tsunade replied. "Shizune, please call them."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune glanced at the brunette before running out of the room.

Thirty minutes later, Shikaku Nara, Asuma, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Shino were standing in front of Tsunade and the older lady was repeating everything that Tenten had said to them.

"I need your permission before anything is to be done," Tsunade finished.

"Absolutely not," Hiashi refused.

Asuma was about to speak but stopped when he felt a pang in his heart as he saw Tenten's grim eyes. They were pleading with him. Gently, he addressed the girl, "Tenten, may I ask why you want this so badly?"

Her eyes widened in surprised, and then softened. She produced a small smile, "Because, I believe in second chances."

"Rule number two," the three boys automatically said without even thinking about it.

"Then I say, go for it," Asuma grinned, "after all, every one should have a second chance."

"I agree as well," Shikaku stated, his face looked grim and full of regret as he glanced at the brown haired girl.

"If Asuma-sensei, is for it, than so am I," Shikamaru stated. The reason why her team had to agree was because they would be the ones helping her with it.

"If you think this is right, Tenten, then you have my full support," Shino added.

Hiashi finally blew up after keeping silent. "What is the meaning of this? He's a criminal! He's a danger to this village! To our loved ones!"

"Shut up, Hiashi," Shikaku snapped, angrily, "Asuma was the one hurt by him the most and if he says yes than I think we should all agree."

"Since two out of three agreed," Tsunade announced. "Then it's a go. But we still need all of your team to agree, Tenten. So what do you say, Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked. "I'd be an idiot to refuse."

Tenten broke out into giant grin and hugged the Uchiha.

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**I feel that this chapter was too abrubt and wasn't that good. What do you think? **

**Next chapters will be better (hopefully) since the basic storyline has begun! **

**Thanks! **


	5. Chapter 5: Releasing the Prisoner

Disclaimer: i do not own anything...

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Chapter 5: Releasing the Prisoner

"_This is a disgrace to our village!" Hiashi bellowed before storming out the office._

"Disgrace?" Asuma scoffed, thinking back to the final remark of the head of the Hyuga clan at the meeting last night.

"What we did eleven years ago was a disgrace to our village," Shikaku mumbled as he yawned.

The two Jonin were now making their way to the secret archive chambers for the releasing of the S-class criminal.

"Putting that all aside," Asuma declared. "I think that this is a good idea."

"It's the least we can do," Shikaku murmured.

* * *

"You're late," Kakashi smirked through his mask as he watched the two Jonin enter the room. He didn't have his book with him and had arrived on time. Later, they found out that Sasuke had something to do with that.

"You're early," Asuma replied.

"Can we just start already?" Sasuke asked, annoyed. He was leaning against the wall. Next to him, Tenten stood, trembling. Shikamaru was seated on his other side with Shino standing next to him. Everyone else who were chosen to be the first ones to know about this operation were also present: Shizune, Tsunade (of course), Hiashi, and Jiraiya. The rest of the shinobi and people of the village would be informed of the releasing of Hidan at a later date.

"Every one is here so let's get started," Tsunade ordered. "Hiashi, please, step forward and take off your seal. That's an _order." _

"I hope you know that you are dooming this whole village," Hiashi glared before reluctantly approaching the tank coffin. He did a couple of hand signals before stepping back. "There it is done. Now, if you excuse me," he sneered. "I'm leaving."

"The glass can easily be broken now," Tsunade commented, ignoring the exit of the angry brunette.

Tenten slowly walked over to the case and without giving it a second thought, she punched the coffin. Glass shattered everywhere.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Shikamaru smirked.

Hidan's body fell forward; Sasuke rushed over and caught him, before the weight could fall on the girl. "Where do we take him to now?" His question was directed at Tenten but Tsunade answered instead.

"I'll give him a quick treatment and then you must take him to Tenten's home where he will stay."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama said that he should wake up in a week," Tenten said as she closed the door to the room where Hidan now lay behind her.

"Damn, we have to wait a week?" Sasuke groaned.

"She did say that he might wake up earlier. But that it would be highly unlikely," Shino stated.

"So what do we do now?" Shikamaru asked as he leaned back in his armchair.

"Go shopping, I suppose," Tenten suggested.

"Why?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it: when he wakes up, he's going to need a fresh change of clothes," Tenten explained.

"Makes sense," Shino reasoned.

"Whatever, just as long as we don't just sit around bored all day," Sasuke shrugged.

"You coming, Shikamaru?" Tenten turned to their team leader.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here," Shikamaru yawned, closing his eyes. "You know, to keep an eye on him."

"You do realize the dude's unconscious," Tenten put her hands on her hip. However, the only reply she got was a loud snore, signaling that the boy was fast asleep.

* * *

"So what do you get him?" Tenten had a blank look on her face as they stood in the middle of the Men's Department of the store that they randomly walked into.

"Maybe a T-shirt or something," Shino suggested, trying to be helpful. "Probably need some pants too."

"I think you should step aside and let the experts get to work," Sasuke smirked cockily.

She smacked him upside the head. "I hate you. Why did you have to be placed in my team? I could have gotten Kiba, Naruto, or even Lee! But no! I got you!" Tenten muttered angrily as she walked away from the smirking raven haired boy.

"You do realize that the people you just listed are as annoying as hell?" Sasuke smirked triumphantly, catching up with the girl. "And be thankful, girls would die to be teamed up with me."

"Be grateful? Yeah right!"

* * *

**pretty uneventful at the same time contains a very big part of the story. relatively short, cause i did't have anything else to add....**

**Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter: Will Hidan wake up? **


	6. Chapter 6: The Awakening

**Disclaimer:i do not ownanything...**

**man, it's been such a long time since i updated so yeah sorry....**

**enjoy! and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Awakening

_Wiping a bead of sweat off of her forehead, the brunette searched for the location of the last kunai she had thrown. Lately her precision had been faltering. She didn't know why but that didn't stop her from using every free moment to work on it. _

_Spotting it by the trunk of one of the trees, she bent over to pick it up. "What is wrong with me?" She wondered out loud. _

"_Worry, perhaps?" The turned around to see a raven haired teenager gazing at her, amused. _

"_Itachi-nii, what are you doing here?" The girl smiled._

"_Ten-chan, don't over work yourself," Itachi patted her on the head gently. _

"_Nii-chan, I told you not to do that!" she pouted grabbing his hand. _

"_Right, right, sorry," he chuckled. _

"_But," she frowned. "Nii-san, I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen."_

_Itachi's eyes widened before he put on a comforting look. "I'm sure it will be alright."_

The brunette opened her eyes slowly, tears welling up in them at the dream she escaped from. She dug under her blanket further. Her whole body was trembling and she couldn't help crying.

"Are you alright?" She sat up to face the speaker, Sasuke Uchiha, who was standing in the doorway. "I heard you mumbling, I thought I'd check on you."

"Yeah, I will be," Tenten nodded, still wiping away tears. The raven haired boy just nodded. He wasn't the type to be comforting, but just him being there was enough. "Sasuke, why am I in my bed?"

"You fell asleep as you watched over Hidan," Sasuke explained. "I brought you to your own room to get some rest, since you really needed it."

"Thanks," she smiled, getting out of the bed. "And another question, why are you still here? You need some rest too. Go home." The last part was more of a command than a suggestion. It didn't faze the Uchiha, though.

"I couldn't sleep." Tenten raised an eyebrow, as if to say, I don't believe you. "So I thought that I would stick around and see if Hidan will wake up yet."

Tenten's face fell, "I can't believe he hasn't awakened yet…Tsunade said he should be awake by now. What if he…what if he doesn't wake up?" the tears were returning.

Reaching over a wiping a tear off her face, Sasuke smiled his rare smile, "Of course he'll wake up."

"Never knew you were the optimistic type," she smiled gratefully.

"I'm not," Sasuke smirked. "I'm doing your job here."

"_OW! My aching head!"_

"What was that?" Tenten asked looking at Sasuke, but the boy was already out the door.

* * *

"I can't believe the first thing you do after all that we've done for you is to complain about your damn head," Sasuke muttered.

"I can't help it!" Hidan shrugged, gulping down a cup of coffee, "that blast made a rock hit my head hard!"

"I am so glad you're okay!" Tenten squealed, embracing him in a tight hug for the fifth time since he was conscious again, which was ten minutes ago. Meanwhile, Sasuke was glaring daggers at the silver haired man.

"So, Tenten, what have you been up to last time I saw you?" Hidan asked casually.

"Not thinking of you," Sasuke mumbled under his breath.

"No one asked you, Uchiha," Hidan glared. "You know I always liked your brother better, brat."

"Damn," Sasuke muttered sarcastically. "How will I ever move on?"

"Break it up," Tenten ordered; grudgingly, the two males complied.

Yawning, Hidan leaned back on the sofa he was seated on, "You know, even though I have literally been asleep for nearly half a year, I'm really tired…"

"You just chugged down a gallon of coffee," Sasuke pointed out, but Hidan was already fast asleep.

"Sasuke," Tenten gave him a look. "Stop whining and move him into the guest room."

* * *

"Uno," Shino smirked again, rubbing the single card in Kiba's face.

"It's not over till the fat lady sings," Kiba growled.

"Kiba, calm down please," Hinata muttered softly.

"Aren't we supposed to be training?" Neji questioned, crossing his arms. The Konoha thirteen had decided to have a group training session today. But instead of training, teens had taken to doing other things: Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were playing Uno, Shikamaru was sleeping, Ino was sunbathing, Sakura was reading a book, Naruto was being well, Naruto, Neji was just standing there, Chouji was eating, and Sai was drawing. The only person who actually doing anything that related to training was Lee who was running in a circle around Neji, who was starting to get pissed.

"Chill, Neji," Ino stated, "We're still waiting for Tenten and Sasuke."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Lee suddenly stopped running around Neji and instead ran in place. "Tenten said that she couldn't make it today."

"How did you forget that?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It just slipped my mind," Lee shrugged and began he route around Neji again.

"So that leaves Sasuke!" Naruto yelped suddenly. "Where is that---" He was cut off when the raven haired boy that was just mentioned jumped in front him.

"Yo," he smirked.

"Nice of you to join us," Neji glared, "can we get started now?"

Ignoring the Hyuga, Sasuke stalked over to Shikamaru and woke him up.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru mumbled sleepily, opening one eye partially to look at the fiend who woke him up.

"I need to talk to you," Sasuke simply put, then turned to Shino's direction, "You too, Shino."

"Then talk." Shikamaru rolled over to his side, preparing to go back to sleep. With a sigh, Sasuke grabbed him by his collar and forced him up.

"In PRIVATE." Sasuke added before running off, motioning the other two to follow him.

"Fine, fine," Shikamaru yawned, following.

"Kiba, I won," Shino stated before running off as well.

"Why, I wonder," Hinata wondered.

"I know: why must Shino be so good at Uno!" Kiba yelled, distressed. The rest of the group looked at him. "What?"

* * *

**yay! chapter 6 is finally up. stay tuned for the next chapter: Shikamaru and Hidan meet on friendly times for the first time.**


	7. Chapter 7: Choice

**Disclaimer; i do not own anything**

**yeah new chapter! **

* * *

Chapter 7: Choice

"So now that Hidan is awake what will happen?" Shino asked, breaking the silence that had formed over the three boys as they made their way to their teammate's house.

"Basically we have to babysit him," Sasuke replied, as he leapt from one rooftop to another. "Other than that, I guess we just have to go with the flow."

"Or rather what Tsunade tells us," Shino added.

Smirking, Sasuke nodded. The rest of the time was spent in silence until they reached the door of Tenten's apartment.

Knocking once, Sasuke opened the door and slipped in. Shino followed him in, leaving a hesitant Shikamaru lingering at the door.

_What should I do? _Shikamaru thought to himself, sighing. Closing his eyes to clear his mind, he began the argument in his head all over again. _She's counting on me to help, but can I really help him?_

"Shikamaru," a voice called softly. The boy opened his eyes to stare at the chocolate brown eyes of the girl who was smiling at him. "Are you coming in?"

Biting his lip, Shikamaru decided that he had to do what he had to do, "Tenten, I don't think I should—"

Her smile fell but was quickly regained. "That's fine, Shikamaru. I don't want to upset you in anyway."

"It's not like that," Shikamaru protested. "I'm not holding a grudge, it's just, I'm not ready. And I know if I go in there I'll say something to piss him off or insult him. No I want the moment that I see him again on friendly terms to be actually on friendly terms. It's too soon for me to readily be able to speak to him normally."

Tenten pulled him into a tight hug, "I understand and I respect your decision. But promise me that you'll try to eventually get to know the real him. What you saw was a twisted version of him."

Shikamaru found himself hugging the girl back and agreeing to the promise before he retreated to a place of solitude where he could think.

* * *

Closing the door behind her, Tenten sighed, using the wall to support her. "Is what I'm doing okay? Does it matter that I'm hurting a lot of people in the process? Is it really worth it?" She whispered out loud to herself.

Lifting her head, she saw the white haired man who was arguing about something with Sasuke through the crack in the living room door. Yes, she decided, it is worth it.

* * *

Rolling over in aggravation, Shikamaru's eyes shot open as he sat up abruptly. "Damn, this guilt thing is getting to me. I can even enjoy one moment of piece."

"What guilt?" A skeptic voice asked. He didn't need to turn around to recognize the speaker.

"None of your business," Shikamaru replied, closing his eyes again as he laid back in the grass.

"Why you little---" Ino was about to pounce at her lazy, good for nothing of a teammate when Asuma caught her off.

"Now, now, Ino, give the boy some space. He'll tell us soon enough," Asuma grinned evilly.

"Fat chance of that," Shikamaru mumbled before falling into a deep slumber.

* * *

"She's here," Shino announced as he looked up from the bug that was in his hand.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"My bugs don't lie," Shino's glasses flared.

"That's what you said before we got caught," Sasuke countered.

"If you want to bring that up, then remember whose fault was it that we went there in the first place," Shino retorted smugly.

"Break it up!!!!" Tenten, a nervous wreck at the moment, screamed. "And anyways it was Shikamaru's idea."

"Oh yeah," Shino nodded as he remembered that particular mission.

"Chillax, Ten," Hidan smirked, although he looked like he wasn't taking his own advice. "You know I'll pass."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but was unable to say his witty remark as there was a knock on the door.

* * *

**i changed my mind, shika is going to meet hidan later!!!**

**Next chapter coming soon!! tell me what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8: Judgment

**i do not own anything!!!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Judgment

"It was a dark, Friday night when the old lady known simply as Tsunade was to visit the house of the sole female ninja of Team Luna. Terrified, nervous, the kunoichi seemed a mess. Little did she know---"

"Sasuke, will you cut that out!!" Tenten screamed, chucking a couch pillow at the smirking boy who dodged it with ease.

The door was knocked on again, sounding more impatient this time.

"I think you should be getting the door," Shino commented as he watched the fuming brunette tell off the boy.

"Oh, right!" Tenten sprinted to the door, throwing it open to reveal a very annoyed blonde. "I'm so sorry, Lady Tsunade, you see what had happened was I—"

"Save the apology, I have things to do after this. Where is Hidan?" Tsunade caught her off sharply.

"Living room," Tenten said meekly. The blonde brushed past her towards the said room.

"Don't worry about her," Shizune whispered sympathetically to the nervous teen, "she's just grumpy because she hasn't had her mid afternoon nap today."

Tenten nodded in realization before rushing after the Sanin who was now looking the ex-convict up and down.

As soon as the white haired man saw the blonde, he became a nervous wreck, rambling on a greeting and how he hoped she was doing well. And this was of course right after he jumped up from his comfy seat on the couch and given her a deep bow. Sending the two smirking boys a glare as she walked in, Tenten quickly approached the hokage, waiting for further instruction.

Tsunade looked from Hidan to Tenten once more before clearing her throat. "Now that the easy part is done, we have to begin on the hard part: informing the rest of the village about our decision to let you go, Hidan. It's going to take a while since we will reveal it bit by bit to soften the blow, you understand that means that you are confined to this apartment for some time now."

"Yes, I am well aware of that," Hidan nodded furiously.

"Also, you need to wear this band around your neck to control your chakra," Tsunade added, handing him a black choker like object. Hidan glared down at the item, resisting the urge to say something against it.

"Yes, my Lady," Hidan muttered unwillingly. Side glancing at Tenten, he saw the hurt expression on her face so he grabbed the choker and fastened around his neck. Flashing a smile, he assured her silently that it was going to be alright.

"Now, Tenten," Tsunade turned her attention to the relieved teen. "Here is the scroll that has the hand signals of how to control the device. I expect you to memorize them AND to use them when necessary. Remember this is all part of our deal."

"I know," Tenten replied softly, accepting the scroll hesitantly.

"Shizune, did I miss anything?" Tsunade inquired, eying her secretary.

"No, milady," Shizune said hurriedly, caught off guard.

"Good, then I will take my leave," and with that, the two women were gone.

Sighing, Tenten plopped down next to Hidan. "That went …er…well, I suppose."

"Now what do we do?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the hand of the couch.

"I think it's time that you answer a couple of my questions," Hidan suddenly said.


	9. Chapter 9: Questions

**Disclaimer: i don't own anything...**

**So it's finally here! Yay (not really). Hopefully, i'll update the next chapters soon, so keep reading!**

**Enjoy! ANd review!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Questions

"_I think it's time that you answer a couple of my questions," Hidan suddenly said._

"Okay," Tenten replied hesitantly. "What questions do you have?"

Hidan smirked, "You know, questions."

Sasuke sighed, "I hate where this is going. Do you want us to leave now?"

"No you can stay for now," Hidan waved it off. "You might be able to answer some of them, Sasuke. And I have some things to ask from you, Shino." Shino raised an eyebrow but kept his silence.

"Are you gonna start, or not? We don't have all day you know," Tenten crossed her arms, getting ready to face what the white haired man was about to throw at her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask anything personal," Hidan replied, a sly smirk playing on his lips. "So let's start from where I left off. What happened to the rest of us after I was, you know, 'decimated'? And don't hold back any details."

"I'll give it to you short: I left Orochimaru and gathered up Team Hawk. Then I went and killed Itachi. And now I'm here," Sasuke said briefly, a cold, stone face glued to his voice.

"Hmm, your team was with Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, correct?" Hidan commented, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Tenten asked, surprised. She shifted in her seat to look at Hidan.

Hidan looked at her with a sad pang in his eyes. "They weren't supposed to be Orochimaru's slaves." He spit out the words with distaste and disgust. "They were supposed to grow up with you and Sasuke. But after the 'incident' that was all ruined."

Sasuke and Tenten nodded, knowing what Hidan was talking about. Shino listened intently, although he felt out of place. But he stayed as he felt the need to understand his teammates more.

"Anyways on a brighter note, hopefully, what happened to your team?" Hidan asked.

"We're _not_a team anymore," Sasuke snapped, the cold look set on his face as if it was set in stone.

"No need to get snappy," Hidan joked dryly. "Now I'm afraid to ask, what happened to Deidara and Kisame?"

Tears filled Tenten's eyes before she rushed out of the room. Sasuke answered, "They were killed." Hidan lowered his eyes and stared at his hands in his lap.

"Why did it turn out like this?" Hidan muttered softly. He looked up suddenly with a forced smile with an attempt to lighten the mood. "So, Shino, time for cross-examination."

Shino side glanced at Sasuke, "Should I be worried?" Sasuke merely shrugged.

"So do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Do have any romantic feelings for Tenten?"

"What kind of question is that?" Sasuke interjected.

"Just answer it!" Hidan snapped, glaring at Sasuke.

"Let me retort that question with a question of my own," Shino smirked. "Would I want to be killed by not one, but two, prodigies?"

"Ahh, good point." Hidan nodded. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?" Sasuke replied, slightly pissed.

"You can leave now," Hidan smirked. "And Shino, you should go with him."

"Fine," Sasuke rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat on the couch armrest. "Let's go, Shino." Nodding, Shino stood up and walked towards the door. "Oh and Hidan, don't piss her off. Her punches really do hurt."

"Thanks for the warning," Hidan waved a casual goodbye to the two boys who shut the door just as Tenten reentered the room.

"Sorry about- wait where did Sasuke and Shino go?" Tenten asked, confused, as she took a seat in her previous spot next to Hidan.

"Oh, they said they had some errands to run," Hidan waved if off nonchalantly.

"That's weird," Tenten pondered before shrugging. "Oh well, so did they answer all your questions?"

"Yes, but I have some questions for you," Hidan nodded and then turned his body so that he could look her in the eyes easier. "How are they treating you here? Does anyone know about the 'curse'?"

"Don't call it a curse, it's more like an honor," Tenten corrected then smiled reassuringly to convince him that everything was all good. "They're treating me fine. And apart from Sasuke, no one knows about 'you know what'."

"Let's keep it that way, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Tenten chuckled.

"I'm being serious."

"I know," Tenten sighed deeply. "I won't let anyone find out, alright?"

"That's a good girl," Hidan smiled kindly as he pulled her into a hug. "Also if Sasuke or that Neji ever decide they want to give you a hard time, just tell me and I'll make sure they never see the light of day ever again." For that Hidan received a strong, stern punch to the arm which as a result caused him to yelp in pain.

* * *

_**Outside the Apartment**_

"So why do you think he kicked us out?"Shino asked as he sipped on his soda and stared up at Tenten's empty balcony.

"Hidan has issues," Sasuke said simply as he popped the top of his can open. "But Tenten has some as well and Hidan likes to keep them on the down low."

"So they're pretty close, right?" Shino asked as he gestured toward the apartment with a tilt of his head.

"Let's just say that when we were little, he was like an older brother to her and I think that he thinks he needs to fill in those shoes again for her now," Sasuke explained.

"So what do you think?"

Sasuke paused for a moment in thought, "I think he's right."

* * *

**So, if anyone noticed i changed a couple of things for certain purposes which will be clearer later on. **

**Also, just for my own personal organization reasons i've decided to divide the story line into 'arcs'.**

**The first arc: The Beginnings was chapter 1-9 (everything up to now). The next arc will be the Land of the Secrets Arc. Here's a preview:**

"There's something up with that chick, she's really suspicious," Tenten ranted as she paced back and forth in her small living room.

"Maybe you're just being paranoid," Hidan suggested.

"No that's not it!" Tenten snapped.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Then don't," Tenten glared at the white haired man before storming off to her room. She sank down at her small desk which was covered with books and randomly flipped one of the many books open. It opened to a 'Perservation Jutsu' which intrigued the brunette. Suddenly her honey colored eyes widened, she sprang up out of her seat and jolted out of the door.

**WHatcha think? next chapter coming soon!**

**Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Enter the Land of the Rain

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**So, yeah...YAY! CHAPTER 10!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Enter the Land of the Rain

"I can't believe we left Hidan alone," Tenten sighed as the team created a greater distance between them and Konoha.

"We didn't leave him alone. We left him with Asuma-sensei and Kakashi-sensei," Shino replied. "So he'll be fine."

The team had gotten another secret mission to the Land of the Rain forcing Tenten to leave Hidan in the care of Konoha for the time being. This didn't rest well with the brunette but she was forced to give in and agree to the mission by Tsunade's command.

"Everyone, stop," Shikamaru suddenly ordered and the other three came to a stop on separate branches of trees, waiting for further instructions.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the tree trunk.

"I think we should mask up in case we run to any enemies," Shikamaru replied and the other three nodded.

Because of the secrecy of these missions, the four shinobi were forced to wear a outfit that was different from their usual clothing complete with part of the face covered to mask their identity. Shikamaru was wearing a forest green vest with a lighter green sleeveless turtleneck under it. The turtle neck had a face mask (like Kakashi's except doesn't cover any of the eyes) that he pulled up to cover his mouth. He was wearing a pair of green pants that had pockets that held all kinds of kunais and shuriken. On his hands he wore fingerless black gloved that ran half way to his elbows. On the right glove, he had pinned his forehead protector. The symbol on the protector was not the Konoha symbol but rather a crescent moon to symbolize Team Luna. He had a green pair of shinobi boots.

Sasuke wore a dark blue trench coat that buttoned halfway with three straps on the chest. He was wearing a black sleeveless turtle neck underneath with black pants. His sword was strapped to his waist. He also had a separate dark blue face mask pulled over his mouth. His forehead protector was over his forehead and he had white bandages wrapped around his arms. Sasuke was wearing regular black boots which had several straps on it.

Shino was wearing a black face mask and long sleeved turtle neck shirt. His forehead protector was worn as a belt and he had on very dark green pants and a matching high collar jacket. He had a pair of square shades on to cover his eyes. His hair on the other hand was out, unusually. He also had a pair of dark green shinobi boots.

Tenten was wearing a black square-neck, mid elbow sleeved shirt with black shorts. Her Forehead protector was worn around her neck along with a black choker. She wore a pair of big shades and the hoodie of her black, short-sleeved jacket that was open and ran down to mid-thigh was up leaving only her bangs out and strands of her long hair which was down out. She also had on black and pink striped elbow-length hand warmers and thigh length black and pink striped socks. She wore black fingerless gloves under her warmers and normal black boots.

* * *

After a couple of hours of running and jumping through trees, Shikamaru had allowed the group to slow their pace down to a walk for a while to rest a bit. Shikamaru and Shino were at the front, talking about the mission where as Sasuke and Tenten kept to the back.

Sasuke was silent but looked upset and uneasy. Tenten sympathetically put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "What's wrong, Sasu-kun?"

"Don't wanna talk about it," Sasuke grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pocket and looking to the side.

"Fine, but when you do, I'm all ears," She have one last smile before she began to skip to where the other two were.

"Wait," Sasuke murmured quietly. But it was just loud enough for Tenten to here and stop skipping waiting for Sasuke to reach her. When he did, he began, "The Land of the Rain is where our team broke up." Tenten listened intently, not making a noise to interrupt him. "Suigetsu and Karin decided that they didn't want to go get revenge anymore and that they wanted to live a normal life in the Land of the Rain which they thought was peaceful."

"We should go visit them," Tenten offered excitedly.

"No, we can't."

"Why not?" Tenten looked confused.

"Because, they're dead. Suigetsu died to protect Karin. But they got her as well," Sasuke explained. "Juugo told me."

"What happened to Juugo?" Tenten asked in a small voice, like she was almost too scared to ask.

"He was killed as well," Sasuke replied sullenly.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry," she took off her glasses, revealing her honey eyes to have a sorrowful look in them.

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "It's my fault that they died. I have to live with that."

"Sasuke," Tenten repeated, tears forming in her eyes, she embraced him in a hug. "Don't worry you'll always have me." She whispered softly. Sasuke awkwardly hugged her back, but guilt over took him as he pushed her away.

"Let's catch up with Shikamaru and Shino," Sasuke muttered, not looking at her directly. Tenten stood in place for a moment, confused and slightly hurt. But she didn't have time to regain herself as the next thing she new three kunai were headed at her.

She dodged them with ease and put her sunglasses on again. "Shikamaru! We have company!" She yelled.

A shinobi jumped out of the trees and swiped a dagger at her. Backflipping, Tenten managed to dodge it. Taking out one of her scrolls, she summoned twenty kunai and sent it flying at the shinobi. They were all direct hits but the enemy ninja just became a poof of smoke.

"Erg, a clone," Tenten clenched her fists. She ran to where the others were. "Were they all clones?" She questioned.

Shikamaru nodded, "Someone's out to get us, and I want to know who."

* * *

"Ah the Land of the Rain," Shino commented as the four teens stood hidden in the wet mass of trees. "Never liked the wetness."

"Get used to it, we will be here until our mission is complete," Shikamaru retorted.

"So how do you propose we enter without arousing suspicion?" Tenten asked, swinging her legs back and forth from where she sat on the branch.

"Well, for starters, maybe we shouldn't look like we're on a mission," Sasuke suggested like it was obvious.

"So we should change?" Tenten treaded cautiously.

"No duh," the three boys chorused.

"Shut it," Tenten snapped, throwing kunai at them all.

Ten minutes later the team was ready to go. They had taken off their forehead protectors , masks, and coats/jackets and gone with the simple top and bottom.

They managed to get through the gate with the 'fake' real permission slip that they got from Tsunade and began to roam the damp streets of the village.

* * *

**I'm not pleased with this chapter either, so please, DON'T HATE ME!**

**I'm going to use this lame chapter to lead up to the next plot/ conflict in the story! so stay tuned!**

**Review please! Advice appreciated!**

**Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11: Mission and Worries

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything!**

**Sorry for the long wait! But it is finally here, so please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Mission and Worries

Running her fingers through her wet hair, Tenten looked at herself in the mirror. She stared the wet mess flowing from her head and smiled fondly at the memory that was reappearing in her mind.

_Flashback_

"_Sasu-chan! Get out of the way, I'm going for a cannonball!" Little Tenten yelled happily down to the raven haired boy who was wading in the bay below the cliff where she stood. Jumping off and into the water, a giant splash disturbed her napping father. His brown eyes shot open as he sat up, looking slightly pissed. _

"_Ooh, you're gonna get it," Sasuke giggled as he swam over to Tenten._

"_Who did that?" Her father demanded, playfully acting angry._

"_Sasuke did it!" Tenten lied before ducking in the water and attempting to flee the crime scene. _

"_Hey! Stop right there!" Sasuke grabbed her foot. _

_Struggling to get out of his grip, she spotted one of her teenage guardians, Kisame, walking up to the beach. She cried, "Kisame! Help! Sasuke and Dad are trying to kill me!" _

_Kisame rolled his eyes with a smirk, but then said heroically, "I'll save you Princess!"_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes and Tenten broke out into a fit of giggles as Kisame swooped into the water and in a flash he was next to the two children. Grabbing them, one in each hand, Kisame waded to the shore. _

"_Thanks you, Kisa-kun!" Tenten smiled brightly, using the annoying nickname that he oh so hated. _

"_Here you go, Sensei," Kisame handed Tenten over to her father just to spite her._

"_Wait, What no!" Tenten screamed, struggling to get out of their grip, "Kisame, you traitor!" _

"_Have I ever told you how cool you are?" Sasuke asked, smirking at the scene before him._

_The blue skinned teen grinned, "You could stand to do it more often."_

_End Flashback_

"Those were days," Tenten mumbled happily to herself before she exited the bathroom of the hotel room to join the rest of her team.

* * *

"So according to the plan, we're supposed to sneak in," Tenten recounted as she and Sasuke hid in the shadows peering at the guards. "So how do we do that?"

"You take the guard on the left, I'll take the one on the right," and with that Sasuke jumped quietly in the shadows, approaching the guard in little time with even less noise. He was in front of the guard in an instant and placed him into a gengitsu. Tenten unleashed a series of arrows at the other guard which set off a gas, knocking him out.

"Let's go," Sasuke said as Tenten landed next to him.

Meanwhile, a little distance away, from the back of the building that they were breaking into, Shino and Shikamaru began ready to strike the guards on their end. After a mere five minutes of one-sided fighting, they were able to knock out the guards and get into through the back door.

"Do you think they made it in?" Shino wondered out loud.

"You better believe it," the two boys glanced down the hallway to see Sasuke and Tenten waiting.

"Now we move to Part B," Shikamaru announced and the other three nodded. Tenten and Shino ran down hallway to the left where as Shikmaru and Sasuke when to the right.

Stopping, Shino placed his hand on ground and a spider approached it and took a seat on the top part of his hand, "We're close."

Quietly observing her surroundings with her sharp eyes, Tenten thought over the plan. "We have a problem." She whispered lowly to her companion.

Shino knew better than to question her sudden announcement but rather followed her as she took off running down the narrow corridor. As they turned into an even narrower corridor, he finally spoke up, "What's going on?"

"There someone else here," Tenten whispered, glancing back for a split second before they entered a large opening. She cursed under her breath, "Damn, we're sitting ducks here."

"Then we just have to get ready to fight," Shino murmured. At that moment a man dressed in guard uniform came, charging at them. Behind him came six other guards.

"This is my favorite part," Tenten smirked wickedly as she flicked two kunai which were attached to each other mhem. Behind him came six other guards.

"This is my favorite part," Tenten smirked wickedly as she flicked two kunai which were attached to each other by an electric cord at the first man. The cord wrapped around him, giving him a huge shock from the electricity.

Shino shook his head slightly before releasing a cloud of bugs that engulfed the rest of the guards. "Tenten." He ordered in a stern voice, giving her the cue.

The brunette released a mass of weapons at the shrouded guards.

* * *

"I believe it would be safe to say that we have completed the mission," Sasuke commented as he fingered the dagger that he had successfully stolen from its case moments before.

Shikamaru eyed him strangely, "You do realize that we still have to deal with the mass of guards that will come to respond to that alarm that you just deliberately activated."

Shrugging and smirking through his mask, Sasuke replied, "That's the aftermath of the mission." As he finished, he threw a punch at a guard who just came up running towards him.

"You enjoy this part the most, don't you?" Shikamaru asked as he grabbed some guard's arm and threw him over his shoulder and unto the floor.

"What makes you…say that!?" Sasuke asked as he finished up another guy and turned to smirk at his captain.

"No reason," Shikamaru shook his head, "Hey, where are the other two?"

"I'm guessing they should be on their way soon," Sasuke replied bluntly before pulling out his sword and charging into a mass of guards that was running their way.

* * *

Kicking the last guy in the stomach which made him drop to the ground, unconscious, Tenten glanced around at their work. Thoroughly pleased, she began twirling a kunai around her finger. "So you wanna call Shikamaru or should I?" She asked pleasantly as she glanced at her teammate who was standing in the shadows and examining his bugs.

He looked up at her, "You do it. But I have feeling we'll have to find a way out."

"Yeah, probably, but it never hurts to be sure," Tenten grinned as she pressed her finger to her ear. "Hiya, Shika!" She yelled cheerfully into the earpiece.

"_Thank you for just bursting my eardrum." _She could almost hear Shikamaru wince at the sudden loud voice in his ears.

"You're very welcome, Captain," Tenten happily replied, ignoring the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "What do you want us to now?"

"_Find a way out. Sasuke and I are done here. We'll meet you outside."_

Tenten nodded, although she knew he couldn't see, "Yes, sir!" She turned to Shino and grinned, "You're right. Rule number 33: Rely on your instinct."

This forced Shino to smirk as he shoved his hands in his pockets again. "You have used those in a while now."

"I'm human, I can forget sometimes," Tenten shrugged as the two began towards where they had began which was one of the gates of the building.

* * *

"31 minutes," Sasuke said bluntly as he watched Tenten and Shino emerge from the shadows and join him and Shikamaru.

"31 minutes for what?" Tenten questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"Sasuke timed how long it would take you two to get out," Shikamaru explained, clearly bored as he leaned against a tree.

Rolling her eyes, Tenten walked over at punched Sasuke unexpectedly which caused him to land on the floor, rubbing his cheek.

"Damn, girl, you hit hard," Sasuke glared up at the brunette. "And may I ask, what the hell was that for?"

"One, rule number 31 is don't waste your time on pointless matters unless you want to get slapped," Tenten lectured, placing her hands on her hips. "And also, rule number 37 is take your feelings out on your teammates if you're really being bothered by them."

"That's not a very a good rule," Shino commented, as he watched the scene, thoroughly amused.

"Not necessarily. You see I just got completely relaxed after I punched him," Tenten explained, offering a mere shrug.

"What was bothering you?" Shikamaru inquired, snapping to attention.

"I don't know, I guess you can call it worry. But still, I feel like there is something run here," Tenten wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. "I don't know what it is. I just don't like it."

"We'll keep a look out for anything suspicious," Shikamaru announced. "Keep me updated on that gut feeling of yours, okay?"

Tenten nodded as Shino offered his hand to Sasuke and helped the raven haired boy up.

"Everyone stay alert," Shikamaru ordered before the four teens made their way to their camp site. As they creeped through the silent forest with sudden bursts of noise very couple of minutes or so, they tensed increasingly. When they finally reached their camp site, all four of them were relieved to see it just as how they left it.

"Hey, you guys are from Konoha, right?" A sudden shriek filled the silent mass of trees and released a sea of birds into the black, calm sky.

* * *

**Yeah! Cliffhanger---sort of... well hope you enjoyed and as always don't forget to review!!**


	12. Chapter 12: New Friend

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!!

**Sorry for the really long wait, EnjoY!!!! and please review!**

Chapter 12: New Friend

"_Hey, you guys are from Konoha, right?" A sudden shriek filled the silent mass of trees and released a sea of birds into the black, calm sky._

The four shinobi had whipped around to see the speaker: a brown haired girl who was smiling pleasantly at them. Upon closer inspection, Shikamaru recognized that she was from the Land Hidden in the Rocks from her forehead protector.

"Umm, hi," Tenten broke the ice, her voice unsure. She paused for a moment trying to think of the right words but was beaten to it by Sasuke.

"How do you know we're from Konoha?" Sasuke demanded, bluntly, glaring at the girl for apparently no reason.

"I kind of looked through your stuff," the girl smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"That's not creepy at all," Shikamaru muttered under his breath only to see that he was getting a look from his teammates. "What?" He inquired.

"What's creepy is that shriek you just let out," Tenten replied, forgetting about the girl who had just appeared behind them.

"Well, excuse me for not enjoying to be surprised," Shikamaru retorted.

A cough brought the team back to the matter on hand. "You guys can call me Midori."

"Don't really care," Sasuke stated before he wandered to his bag and checked to make sure everything was intact.

"Don't mind him, HE'S RUDE BY NATURE," Tenten explained, saying the last part loudly to make sure the raven haired boy heard.

"I repeat, I don't care," Sasuke replied, not looking up from rummaging through his bag.

"Anyways, I'm Tenten, that idiot is Sasuke," Tenten turned once more to the girl.

"I'm Shino. Nice to meet you," Shino greeted, fixing his glasses.

Midori nodded in greeting.

Shikamaru nodded before he added his own introductions, "You can call me Shikamaru, but don't call me if you need something unless it is very important. If it is important, go find someone who can help you better." Tenten nudged him in the ribs for that.

"Just ignore him, he's just as bad as Sasuke," Tenten explained, smirking a little.

"We can hear you," both boys chorused, annoyed.

"Now this is where Tenten says she doesn't care," Shino told Midori who nodded fervently.

"Hey, Shino, don't dictate my actions. That sucks the fun out of everything," Tenten pouted. "Anyways, Midori, what can we do for you?"

"Well…" Midori paused, unsure to go on or not. She finally decided to continue after carefully picking her words. "Well, you see I am a primarily taijutsu-based ninja, and I heard of this great taijutsu master in Konoha. I really want to meet him and have him train me."

"What's the name of this 'master'?" Tenten inquired.

"He's name is Might Guy," Midori answered quickly.

Tenten's honey colored eyes widened in disbelief and was close to fainting at the thought of her sensei practically worshipped by someone else other than Lee. She glanced at her team for back up but she just saw Sasuke and Shino smirking like crazy and Shikamaru trying to suppress his laughter but failing horribly. "L-listen, you really don't train with Gai-sensei. Training with him is like hell and he's a little on the….er…weird side."

Not being able to keep his comments back, Sasuke remarked, "A little? Yeah, and Lee's just a little too hyper all the freaking time."

"No, I've heard rumors of his greatness in battle and how he has never lost a match before!" Midori protested, the prospect of her 'hero' being less than perfect horrifying her.

"Yeah, those would not be true," Shino added thoughtfully.

"He's lost plenty of matches against his eternal rival," Sasuke commented, thinking back on the lame matches between the two 'immature' jonin.

"Those rumors most probably had been spread by Lee," Tenten murmured more to herself than to the others.

"Whatever you say won't change my mind," Midori stated firmly. "I really want to him to train me no matter what!"

"If she really insists then let her," Shikamaru mumbled, as he was pissed that all the loud conversation prevented him from getting sleep. "She can come with us back to Konoha, now everyone to sleep!" the last part benefited himself the most of course but the rest of the teens obeyed anyways.

Thirty minutes later, Shikamaru, Shino, and Midori had all drifted off to sleep leaving Tenten, wide awake, thinking as she gazed up at the stars. She felt a gentle poke on her shoulder and soon she saw Sasuke hovering over her. "What do you want?" Tenten asked lazily, not wanting to sit up or get up.

"Let's talk," Sasuke replied bluntly.

"About what?" the brunette inquired as she sat up in her sleeping bag.

"You haven't been able to sleep and you seem like you're deeply disturbed about something," Sasuke replied like it was quite obvious. He held out his hand to her, "Come on, I'm all ears."

Tenten stared at his hand for a moment before grabbing it and allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Okay, but don't laugh."

"Do I ever laugh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"True," Tenten nodded thoughtfully as she thought about that. Then she remembered the original topic of their conversation. She spoke in a low voice, "It's about that girl."

As the two began to walk away from the camp, Sasuke inquired, "What about the girl? Other than fact that she's almost as Gai-obsessed as Lee?"

Tenten gave him a sharp glance at his comment before confiding, "I think she's up to something. Doesn't it seem strange to you that she suddenly shows up and even tells us that she went through our things? And then she _asks_ us to take her back with us to get trained under Gai-sensei of all people?" She paused, gathering her thoughts, "I don't trust her."

"Glad we agree on that," Sasuke chuckled, looking up at the starry sky. "She seems too good to be true."

"So what should we do?" Tenten asked uneasily.

"At this point, we're very limited," Sasuke mused. "Let's keep an eye on her for now. With Gai-sensei teaching her, that will help us. That is until she realizes that he's crazy and leaves him."

"So that's all we can do?" Tenten shook her head thinking about how useless they were in this case. "Watch from the sidelines."

"That's better than nothing," Sasuke replied before jumping up onto a large boulder and taking his watch position. Tenten sighed as she turned to go back to camp and her light slumber. The raven haired boy's voice once again stopped her, "I won't let anything happen." He said it like a declaration but Tenten smiled as she knew below the surface, it was actually a promise.

"Thanks, Sasuke," She murmured just softly enough for it to catch his ears.

* * *

**what did you think? please leave a review!!!**


	13. Chapter 13: Surprise Attack

**Disclaimer: i dont own anything so yeahhhh.**

**Thanks a lot Mew Hana and Narutofan (anon) for the reviews! They keep me going! And i hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!  
Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: Surprise Attack

Sasuke smiled a little to himself as he watched the retreating figure of the brunette.

"Such a sweet moment, I'd hate to ruin in," a deep voice behind the raven haired boy commented lightly.

"Great," Sasuke rolled his eyes, not even turning around to face the mystery ninja. A small smirk crept to his lips. "Finally some real action." He took out three kunai and chucked them at the ninja who dodged them and reflected them back at him.

Easily dodging the kunai, Sasuke aimed a kick to the ninja's stomach which sent him flying backwards. "What are you here for?" Sasuke asked forcefully, as he reached for his sword and unsheathed it.

"If you want to know, defeat me first," the enemy ninja growled as he stood up shakily. His arm reached for the part where Sasuke hit and he winced.

"That won't be too hard," Sasuke smirked wickedly.

* * *

Humming quietly to herself, Tenten strolled casually back to the camp sight. "You know, if you want to sneak up on someone, then you should try to be a little quieter next time," She noted out loud as she heard the soft rustle of leaves behind her. In a split second, a man jumped toward her from behind, ready to stab her with a kunai. Tenten spun around and blocked the blade with a kunai of her own.

"Oh come one you got to be faster than that," Tenten mocked as a smile came to her lips. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three kunai, each attached to a paper bomb. Launching these at her attacker, she watched in delight as each one set off. "That should take care of him." She murmured triumphantly to herself.

"Tenten, that was a decoy," Sasuke informed her as he leaped down next to her.

"Then the real one is…" Tenten trailed off, looking at Sasuke, alarmed.

Sasuke nodded and finished for her, "At camp. Come on!" The two teens ran back to the campsite just to find the other three wide awake and taking on three enemy ninja. They didn't have much time to think as two others lunged at them.

"Did I have mention that I hate fighting at night?" Shikamaru grumbled as he landed a well aimed kick at the enemy ninja.

"YES, Shikamaru, you did mention that a couple of thousand times already!" Tenten yelled as she dodged a blow from her guy.

"Just wanted to make sure you knew!" Shikamaru retorted and suddenly a smirk grew on his lips as he formulated a plan. His eyes had caught sight of the shadow of the man in the firelight. He did some quick hand signs and soon had the ninja under control.

Sasuke frowned as he watched his captain capture the enemy, there was something wrong. He threw a kunai at the already captured man and cringed when he erupted in a poof of smirk. "Are any of these real?" He wondered out loud but was unable to ponder the topic anymore as he watched in horror as another ninja snuck up behind Tenten and gave her a kick that sent her flying into the trees.

The raven haired boy moved fast and was instantly in Tenten's path as he caught her and laid her aside gently, as she now was unconscious. He turned to the attacker with eyes gleaming with anger. "You will regret that." He murmured just loudly enough for the ninja to hear him.

The enemy ninja widened his eyes and took a step back from the approaching Uchiha. "I-I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man stammered, fearfully.

"What? Not so tough, now are you?" Sasuke stated mockingly, his hand reaching for his sword, the hand crafter silver sword that had an Uchiha fan embalmed in the handle. The cool metal part had the outline of a dragon wrapped around it.

"P-please don't kill me, and I'll, uh, spare your friends!" the man pleaded, as he backed away.

Sasuke scoffed, amused, "My friends can take your goons on anytime. They don't need you to have pity on them." He began to raise his sword. "Any last words?"

The man's eyes widened but he too frightened to speak.

With a triumphant smirk, Sasuke began to bring the sword down on the man. "Sasuke!" His hand froze as the soft groan reached his ears.

Taking advantage of the moments that Uchiha was distracted, the ninja disappeared into the night; and mere moments later, a loud explosion could be heard.

"Damn, he got away," Sasuke cursed angrily but he remembered the girl and rushed back to her side. Tenten gave him a weak smile as she still was in pain as he stated, "He got away."

Tenten nodded slowly and carefully to avoid pain, "It's okay. You can't just go hurting everyone who hurts your friends. Rule number 44: Be sensible."

At this, Sasuke kept his silence, lowering his head unconsciously.

"Rule 41: Don't grieve over your mistakes, and rule 42: learn from your mistakes" Tenten lectured as she attempted to stand up, but wobbled. Sasuke quickly caught her and picked her up.

"Isn't rule 45: don't overdue yourself when you're injured?" Sasuke questioned, giving her a look.

Tenten briefly glared at him for using her own 'weapons' against her, but gave in with a sigh. "Fine, you're right. Now carry me back."

"Oh course, your majesty," Sasuke rolled his eyes, but obeyed. A few minutes later, the pair was beside the other three members of their party.

Shikamaru was grumbling an incoherent rant as he ransacked through the burnt objects. Nothing looked recognizable. He took a deep breath and turned around only to see Tenten looking hurt and Sasuke carrying her. Out of aggravation, he growled and kicked a random piece of burnt wood.

When Shikamaru had glanced at her, Tenten's eyes met his and she knew what he was thinking, "Shika-kun, at least we're all okay," she murmured softly as she tried to get Sasuke to let her down. "I'm fine, see?" She attempted to stand straight but stumbled; Sasuke caught hold of her and steadied her.

Shikamaru sighed, "Hey, it could be worse."

"One more thing," Sasuke suddenly spoke as if he just remembered something. "That dagger was in my bag which was at camp…"

"And it blew up," Shino finished.

"So what does this mean?" Midori asked hesitantly.

"It means we failed," Sasuke explained bluntly.

"Not necessarily," Shikamaru suddenly smirked like he got a bright idea. "Lady Tsunade just wanted to keep it out of hands of people who can use it for evil, right? She never said _how."_

"I think she wanted us to assume we needed to bring it back," Shino gave his captain an incredulous look.

"Details," Shikamaru waved it off and yawned, "Now to get some sleep…."

The other four looked at each other: only Shikamaru would be able to freak out about his teammates one moment, find the perfect solution to a failure, and then_ sleep._

"I'm going to keep guard," Sasuke announced.

Shino nodded, "I'll help. Tenten, you need to sleep, that pain isn't going to go away by itself. Midori, it's a long way back, you need your energy."

The two girls nodded and after many protests from Tenten, they settled down into the cool, dew drenched grass and were asleep before they knew it.

* * *

**Shikamaru is so moodswingy....**

**YEAH! Sasuten moment!!!**

**So what did you think?? Please review and thanks for reading...**


	14. Chapter 14: Return

Dislcaimer: I don't own anything........

Yay, i'm not dead! Here's the new chapter, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14: Return

"You what now!?" Tsunade screamed, slamming her hands on the table. From the look on her face, the teens knew she was angry.

"Well, you said to get it out of enemy hands," Shikamaru tried hesitantly.

"I never meant to destroy it!" Tsunade bellowed.

"Lady Tsunade, please, calm down!" Shizune almost pleaded with the elder lady.

The blonde woman began massaging her temples. "Ugh, I need some sake…."

"Drinking on the job? And you call us irresponsible," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Tsunade asked icily, glaring at the Uchiha who just stared back at her defiantly. The other three cringed in fear of the Sannin.

"Sasuke, this is not the _time_ for that," Tenten mouthed to him softly. Even she looked nervous.

Sensing his teammates fear, Sasuke sighed but then confessed, "It was me who put the dagger in my bag and then the camp blew up. I should have seen it coming."

"You should have," Tsunade leaned back in her chair as Sasuke bit back his comeback. "Now, you three run off, your senseis having training menus for you."

Tenten looked even more scared then she had been three minutes ago. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Tsunade grinned successfully, "Nope. Now run along, Guy is waiting for you."

The brunette gulped then turned to the rest of her team, "If you don't see me later tonight, know that I killed myself and threw myself in the river."

Midori, who was standing to the side waiting for Tsunade to finish with the team, looked slightly alarmed at that. Sasuke, who noticed this, rolled his eyes, "She's kidding."

"You," Tsunade beckoned for Midori to come forward, the other teens quickly left the room to go to their training sessions. "What is your name?"

"Midori. I come from the Village Hidden in the Rain," The brunette replied politely. "It's an honor to meet you, my lady. You're a legend every where."

Tsunade did not look amused. "Save the sweet talk. What are you here in Konoha for?"

"I want to meet my hero," Midori answered.

"You hero?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "And please tell me who exactly is your hero?"

"Might Guy, of course!" she answered like it was obvious.

Tsunade looked slightly taken back. "Does he wear a green spandex and have a bowl cut?" Midori nodded excitedly. "Just checking to make sure we were talking about the right one."

"So," Midori pursed her lips together, nervous to ask her next question. "Can I, erm, meet him?"

Tsunade gave her a fake kind smile, "Well, of course!" She then whispered to Shizune, "Either she has mental problems or she's up to something."

"YES!" Midori cheered happily. "When can I see him? Now?"

"Sure," Tsunade stared at the strange girl. "Shizune, take her to Guy."

Shizune nodded before leading the girl out of the office, leaving a very confused and annoyed Hokage.

"I need to get a better job," Tsunade groaned.

* * *

"And team Guy should be just ahead," Shizune finished the tour she had been giving the brunette.

"WOW!" Midori, who was not listening anymore, looked admiringly at the spandex clad man who was directing his team in doing pushups.

Shizune shook her head ruefully, "Guy, this girl wants to meet you."

Guy turned around and flashed her a grin and a thumbs up, "What a lovely young flower! What can I do for you?"

"Oh my god!" Midori squealed excitedly.

The three members of Guy's team, stooped to their feet. Neji glared at the girl, "Who is she?"

"SHE'S BEAUTIFUL!" Lee exclaimed, causing the brunette to blush. He was staring at her with heart eyes.

Shaking her head, Tenten slapped Lee, "Snap out of it. You're embarrassing yourself."

"Who is she?" Neji demanded, as he was ignored the first time.

"We met her on our mission," Tenten explained, highly amused at her teammate's annoyance of being ignored. "Apparently she's some Guy-sensei fan, though I am yet to see why."

"Well, young lady, would you like to join our training sessions?" Guy offered with an overeggagerated wink for good measures. Behind him, Lee nodded, agreeing that Midori should join, while Tenten and Neji were shaking their heads and signaling for her to say no.

"YES! Of course!" Midori nodded exuberantly.

"You don't know what you have gotten yourself into," Tenten whispered to the excited girl.

"What do you mean?" Midori asked, curiously.

"You'll see," Neji muttered under his breath.

"OKAY, EVERYONE 100 PUSHUPS!" Guy ordered.

"Shouldn't we go easy since this is Midori's first time?" Tenten offered hopefully.

"THAT IS NOT YOUTHFUL!" Lee and Guy gasped dramatically in horror.

"Thought so," Tenten sighed, dejected.

* * *

Being the rebel he was, Sasuke decided to skip his training menu that Kakashi gave him. Not that the white haired Jounin minded of course, he rather find a nice place to read then watch his student train. Instead, the raven haired boy made his way to his teammate's apartment, well aware that she was off training against her will with Guy and the rest of her team.

Sasuke smirked at the idea of Tenten going insane by training with Guy and Lee as he opened the door to the brunette's apartment. "Hidan!" He called into the house as he walked in uninvited.

"Yeah," the white haired man answered lazily as he kept his eyes glued to the television screen. In his hand was the remote which he used to constantly change the channel.

"I need to talk to you," Sasuke stated as he sat down in the large armchair. "Now," he added as he saw the white haired man looked like he didn't care.

"Fine," Hidan grumbled, turning off the television. "But make it quick, I have better things to do. And when I say better things I mean stuff not involved with brats like you."

Sasuke glared at the former criminal briefly before shoving his hand into his pocket and bringing out a bundle. He unwrapped the cloth to reveal a silver dagger.

* * *

Sorry if there were any spelling/grammar mistakes, I didn't have time to completely proofread this....

Please, don't forget to review!


	15. Chapter 15: Busy Library

**Disclaimer: i do not own anything**

**i was looking at my documents and realized that i started chapter 15 so i decided to finish it up. So, here is the over due chapter 15, enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter 15: Busy Library

He unwrapped the soft cloth to reveal a silver dagger. Hidan's eyes widened at the sight of it. It had the design of a vine wrapping around the handle with a vibrant blue gem at the very bottom of it. "This is the dagger that we were supposed to retrieve. I lied saying it was blown up in the explosion at camp so no one knows that I have it."

The haired man could barely speak as he reached out for the weapon but quickly retracted his hand. Standing up abruptly, he began to pace around the room. He turned to Sasuke but was speechless.

"You've seen this before haven't you?" Sasuke questioned as he fingered the intricate designs on the silver object. "When I saw it, I recognized it. I just don't know how I know it."

"I have seen it before," Hidan swallowed as he stared at the silver weapon. "It's a rare heirloom of my family."

"If it's just an heirloom then why was Tsunade so keen on us bringing it back," Sasuke pressed, all his confusion flooding out. "And furthermore why did she send us? Why did she send her top undercover team to go get her a dagger?"

"Because this dagger is very powerful to the user," Hidan explained. "But it only is useful in the hands of the one it is meant for and all those who share his or her blood."

"So could you use the true powers of that weapon?" Sasuke asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer.

"Yes," Hidan nodded then looked at the clock. "We have to wrap this up, Tenten will be home soon. I'll keep it with me here hidden away from Tenten. It's just best if you give it to me to keep."

Sasuke hesitated in handing the dagger over. He felt uneasy about handing over such a powerful weapon to a former s-class criminal.

"Don't worry I won't use it. I don't have the chakra for that and I don't really feel like getting shocked anytime soon," Hidan chuckled dryly as he referred to the black chakra-controlling necklace he was forced to wear.

"Alright, but I want details later," Sasuke handed the dagger to the white haired man before standing up. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, keep safe," Hidan nodded blissfully as he ran his hand over the silver dagger.

The raven haired boy's onyx eyes soften as he let out a small dry chuckle, "You know, you sound like him."

"Sound like who?" the soft sound of the voice of the owner of the apartment followed by the shutting noise of the door penetrated the silence. Hidan immediately shoved the dagger into the crevice of the couch, shrugging off the look Sasuke gave him.

"No one," Sasuke murmured just loud enough for the brunette to hear him as she appeared in the doorway of the living room.

"What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have team training now?" Tenten inquired, crossing her arms and giving the raven haired boy a knowing look.

Sasuke didn't reply but just got up and left the apartment, leaving a very confused girl staring after him. He knew that he was being rude to his teammate but he just had too many things on his mind to think of a decent excuse to tell her. Keeping his silence was the only way to keep the secret safe between him and Hidan. He just hoped that the white haired man would think the same way and not spill any hints to the girl or to anyone else.

Tenten sighed before taking a seat next to Hidan, "What's wrong with him today?"

"Who knows? Uchiha's have always been moody," Hidan joked, effortlessly keeping the secret safe. "Probably his time of month again."

She began to laugh hard at that, "Don't let him hear you say that, or you're dead."

"I can't die, I'm immortal," Hidan smirked.

"True, but he can cut you up into a million pieces and feed you to some form of wild animal," Tenten took this time to smirk smugly at the now paler than usual Hidan.

"You have a sick mind, you know that."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I know."

* * *

A few days later:

Shikamaru cradled his head in his arms as he tried to doze off. He had been sitting in the hard, wooden chair of the library desks for thirty minutes now and was getting extremely annoyed. Every time his eye lids would start drooping and it seemed that he could fall into deep slumber, a loud noise of a book dropping would shock him awake.

Mentally, he cursed the brunette girl for picking these stacks of books to look through. Hell, he cursed her for even being at the library at this time of day. Of course it was only five, but didn't she have a 'guest' at her house to feed dinner to or something.

"You know," Shikamaru lifted his eyes to glare at the speaker, the same brunette he was just mind ranting about. She was holding a big stack of books and was smirking down at him. "Your mind rants won't allow you to fall sleep. You need to relax." Her tone was almost mocking, in a friendly way of course.

"Thank you, Tenten, for that insightful bit of knowledge," Shikamaru retorted sarcastically then added a usual yawn. "This is such a drag. Libraries are supposed to be quiet and empty not filled with people who want books on stupid stuff. People like you."

Tenten rolled her eyes but took a book of her pile that she had dropped on the table and smacked Shikamaru upside the head with it, "Why are you even here? Don't you have a bed or comfortable field of grass to fall asleep in?"

"I'm hiding from my mom and Ino, and the one place where women don't go , is the library," Shikamaru explained like it was obvious. "Except for you, you're just weird," he felt the need to add the last part.

"You're such a sexist," Tenten smirked. "Anyways, I think I saw Ino a couple stacks down in the Medical books."

"WHAT?" Shikamaru immediately jumped up, fear in his eyes. "Oh god, if she finds me, she's gonna drag me shopping for what she wears on her date tonight! I have to get out of here."

"Relax," Tenten chuckled, "I lied."

Shikamaru slumped back into his chair, glaring at his teammate, "I really hate you."

"I love you, too," Tenten smiled smugly, as she had won this battle.

Shino walked out of the stacks and walked over to the pair. He handed Tenten a book, "Is this the one you were looking for?"

Tenten nodded, "Thanks, Shino." She took the book and flipped through it. It gave a history of all clans of the Land of the Rain.

Shikamaru groaned out loud before stomping out, complaining, "Too many people in his damn library. I just want some sleep, is that too much to ask for?

Ignoring the lazy boy who just stormed out, Shino inquired, "Are you still suspicious of Midori?"

"Yes. I think she's hiding something."

"What do you think she's hiding?"

"If I knew, then I wouldn't be wasting my time here, researching. I would act." Tenten snapped, slightly annoyed, not with Shino but with the whole problem with the brown haired girl that they so happened to come across when they were on their mission, the same girl that her teammate was head over heels in love with after one training session, the girl who was damn fangirl of Guy. Everything was just way too suspicious with that girl.

Shino let out a deep, worried sigh. He was worried about what this problem would do to his friend and why she was pushing herself so much. Although he was the outsider one of the Konoha 13, he knew very well what his teammates were up to and he knew that Tenten had spent the last few nights reading different books and researching several different topics that could be in some way connected to the new girl. "I'll go get you a coffee."

"I'd prefer tea," Tenten gave him a small, apologetic smile.

"Tea it is," Shino smiled through his coat at her, it was invisible to any onlooker but he knew she got the message: he was there for her and would give her any help she needed.

* * *

**So what do you think? **


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